Intel compatible memory??

[dan_plus_o]

i7 950 and ASUS P6X58D-E... Which RAM??

Hey guys, just a quick question.

I built my current rig in my sig about 3 years ago now and when I was learning about all the hardware back then I don't ever recalling anything saying you had to use a specific ram depending on whether you had an Intel or AMD CPU.

Now I am looking at RAM and I see some of them saying:
Compatibility: Intel P55 Chipset
Intel Core (Socket 1156) Processors: i7 / i5 / i3

Uh whats with that? I thought ram was ram. Are they seriously saying that this ram won't work in an AMD system?

Here is the RAM in question and I have seen it for others too:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42870&promoid=1209

Planning to get an AMD 1090t and Asus Crosshair IV Formula soon so I am looking for some RAM. Feel free to recommend some. I'm thinking either G.Skill or OCZ. Corsair seems good but so expensive.

 

[Benny Boy]

http://www.computerforum.com/184741-ram-thats-optimized.html

 

[dan_plus_o]

Well that's stupid.. If you check the link it actually says "Compatibility", making the less experienced PC builder think it will only work with i3/i5/i7. Why wouldn't they just say Optimized for. To be honest that actually makes me a little mad

 

[StrangleHold]

It will work on a AMD just fine. I would not get OCZ myself though. You can get DDR3 1600 for pretty close to the same price. I mostly get G Skill and Mushkin anymore.

 

[dan_plus_o]

Yeah I am leaning more towards G.Skill as so many people say such good things about them. Was also looking into crucial but read a few bad things about them (read more good then bad though).

Is 1600 really that much better? When you go with 1600 you don't get as good of timings, right? So which is better 1600 with bad timings or 1333 with better timings? I'm new to DDR3 so I definitely have to do some more reading.

I was looking into these guys here: G.Skill Trident
They are expensive but I assume they are good.

Does anyone know if there would be problems with the height of those? I plan to get the Asus Crosshair IV Formula and the Cooler Master Hyper 212 heatsink so am worried about the heatsink fan hitting the top of the ram.

How to do the Tridents compare to these RipJaws? They have same timings and same speed so is there any reason to pay more for the Tridents ($25 more)?

Also found these with even better timings: CL7-8-7-24

EDIT: I have been reading that 1333 at 7-7-7-21 is better then 1600 at 8-8-8-24 for AMD systems.

 

[Twist86]

Well I love G-Skill and Corsair they have wonderful support and rma service and I have never needed to RMA anything bought from them. I had to RMA a PSU once with Corsair because I stupidly broke the fan. They gave me a new unit

Honestly on speeds it really doesn't matter to me. I never noticed a difference between DDR2 800 overclocked to 1066mhz or higher even when I tightened timings I noticed no real-world difference. Most will argue over it...but I only saw a difference in benchmarks. Beware however of the size of the memory. If you plan to overclock or bought a big after market cooler they tend to get in the way of those types of ram.

Low profile ram is what I always shoot for to avoid issues.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180&cm_re=4GB_DDR3-_-20-231-180-_-Product

Same speed/timings as Trident
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263&cm_re=4GB_DDR3-_-20-145-263-_-Product

You really can't go wrong with Corsair or G-Skill (personal opinion). However OCZ is also a trusted name and they make some great products. Never owned anything OCZ though.

 

[dan_plus_o]

Hey, for the same price as the G.Skills you posted I can get these for about the same price and they have better timings (CL7).

Well to make things more confusing for me, I did some more reading and now I'm thinking about going with an i7 950 instead. I'm thinking the i7 950 will be better for my needs then the AMD 1090t. I'm mainly into gaming but also do a bit of audio recording in Reaper. So from what I read the Intel CPUs like a higher clock memory over tight timings.

At first I wasn't even thinking about the i7s because of the price, but I looked into it and its going to cost about the same as going with the 1090t. Both CPUs or $300 ($50 off i7 950 at NCIX) and I can get a decent x58 mobo for just above $200. ASUS P6X58D-E

For triple channel memory I have come down to these three:
1600 CL9
1600 CL8
1333 CL7

I'm thinking the extra money for the RipJaws would be worth it but not sure if it will all physically fit with a Asus P6X58D-E and a CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ heatsink.